Liz O'Donnell has emerged as the bookies favourite to succeed Mary Harney as leader of the Progressive Democrats with odds for the former junior foreign minister put at 4/6.
Justice Minister Michael McDowell, who has made no secret of his leadership ambitions, is second favourite to lead the party at 2/1.
Tom Parlon, current Minister of State at the Department of Finance, is 3rd favourite at Paddy Power's at 4/1.
Much further behind in the betting are TD's John Minihan and Tim O'Malley both with odds of 16/1 to succeed in a leadership race.
The electorate for the election of party leader will be arranged in three electoral colleges, where each individual will have only one vote, weighted according to the college.
College A consists of members of Dáil Éireann, Members of the European Parliament and Members of Seanad Éireann, College B is made up of local authority members who are subject to the Progressive Democrat Party Whip, members of the national executive and the trustees of the party.
College C is all other members of the Party whose names have been on the central membership register for not less than twelve months before the date of the calling of the election.
The votes will be weighted, with each vote in college C being a unit, so that as nearly as practicable the votes in college A will represent 40 per cent , those in college B 30 per cent and those in College C 30 per cent of the total vote.